Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (VTCI) has deployed the Service Convergence Network (SCN) IP access platform from Pannaway Technologies, Inc. The platform will enable the phone company to deliver ultra-broadband triple play services to residential and business subscribers in 17 exchanges across 19 counties in South Texas.

 

VTCI is in the process of migrating its legacy ATM and TDM infrastructure to a common IP/Ethernet network to support next-generation communications and entertainment services. The new IP network can delivery triple-play broadband services including traditional telephony, VoIP, high-speed data and IP television. All services are delivered using Pannaway’s ADSL2 + Broadband Loop Carrier technology.

 

VTCI plans to make the same services available to about 6,200 additional subscribers in surrounding areas in future deployment phases. The IP-PRIME MPEG-4 satellite video transport service headlines Pannaway’s new ultra-broadband solutions, and is offered through a partnership with SES AMERICOM, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association and members of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. The service enables rural telcos like VTCI to receive and distribute hundreds of video channels over DSL, fiber optic and hybrid facilities at reduced capital costs.

 

The IP-PRIME system also enables easy integration of local broadcast signals at a telco’s headend, which enables VTCI to deliver standard and HDTV in addition to video-on-demand programming, DVR and music services. The company’s triple play network is made up of Pannaway's Broadband Aggregation Routers, ADSL2+ Broadband Access Switches and Residential Gateway NIDs. The Pannaway SCN platform delivers triple-play service capability in one integrated solution that leverages IP and Ethernet.

 

"The one thing that impressed us the most about Pannaway's IP system, above and beyond the extended reach and rate that we're seeing over our ADSL2+ lines, was how quickly and effortlessly they were able to get IP video running", said Dave Osborn, general manager of Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc. "Their BLC products really do work right out of the box as advertised."

 

"Through the use of MPEG4, the amount of bandwidth used by a video signal is about one-half of that needed for delivery using the existing standard of MPEG-2", said Mike Carney, NRTC's national sales director for IPTV (News - Alert). "MPEG-4, combined with the delivery of a high-performance IP network, allows telcos like VTCI to use DSL for the delivery of high-definition television and additional channels simultaneously to the home."

 

"The turnkey solution offered though NRTC will provide an efficient and cost-effective model for telcos of all sizes to launch IP video services", said Mark Carpenter, president of Pannaway Technologies. "IP-PRIME in conjunction with Pannaway's easy-to-deploy, high performance IP access platform significantly breaks down the barriers for rural telco providers to bring high-revenue IP video services to market."

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Laura Stotler writes about IP Communications and related topics for TMCnet. She has covered VoIP and related technologies for seven years, contributing to Internet Telephony magazine and TMCnet, and as a freelance writer. To see more articles, please visit: Laura Stotler’s columnist page.